What We're Playing This Weekend for March 8, 2013

This weekend was made for raiding tombs and simulating cities. We're also eating our vegetables by tackling that mean old backlog. For some, that means taking an arrow in the sweet roll, while for others--like our editor-in-chief--it means hopping into as many mechanized robotic suits as humanly possible. What are you playing this weekend?

RUSSELL ARCHEY | Staff Writer | Twitter @neoscytherOnce again sticking with Skyrim, trying to break my habit of not finishing games I've started. I've "power leveled" a few skills and I'm working on getting Enchanting, Smithing, and Destruction up as high as I can, but I'm hoping to finish the game in the next couple of weeks and move on to something else.

NATHAN CARTER | Staff Writer | Twitter @natedoggcataTake a wild guess...Yup, more Left 4 Dead 2, but I have a feeling that I won’t be playing that as much this weekend as I have the new Tomb Raider coming in the mail and I am very excited to play it. Although I have to admit most of my time in the original PS One Tomb Raider games was spent skipping levels and laughing at all the hilarious ways Lara could die. I just could not figure out those games. Finally, I think I’ll jump back into some more Super Monday Night Combat. SMNC is a full PC game yet the games themselves can last anywhere from five minutes to an hour, making it a perfect game to play a round or two and then play something else.

NATHANIEL COHEN | Staff Writer | Twitter @seven_hellsPlanning on picking up and playing Tomb Raider for this weekend. It was Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation for the Sega Dreamcast that is responsible for the gamer I am today and I'm hoping this one will be a proper Tomb Raider game, unlike the last one I played, 2006's Tomb Raider: Legend, which should have dropped the Tomb Raider name and replaced it with "Secret Russian Military Lab Raider" or "Cocktail Party Raider." I'll never forgive it for the light trails attached to thrown hand grenades.

SEAN COLLELI | Staff WriterHas anyone played the Brutal Doom mod for the original Doom? Because that's what I'll be playing this weekend. It's not for the squeamish, but the level of blood, gore and miscellaneous depravity borders on comically gratuitous. In addition, the tweaks to the graphics, sounds and especially weapons make Doom feel like a brand new game, albeit with wonderfully retro pixel graphics. Just fire up the latest version of the superb GZDoom source port, drag and drop the Brutal Doom file and select the game you want to play from the popup menu. I'm just about done with Doom 2 and I'm looking forward to the ridiculous gore in Final Doom TNT.

JEREMY DUFF | Senior Staff Writer | Twitter @duff3cThis weekend I will be sinking more time into my trek on the road to the major leagues in MLB 13: The Show and spending some more time on Halo 4 multiplayer. I really need to get back to some of the games I have been ignoring on my "to do" list.

CHARLES HUSEMANN | Editor-in-Chief, Twitter @chusemannWill hopefully be playing some SimCity this weekend with everyone else, but outside of that I’m going to be checking out the new stuff in the recent MechWarrior Online patch and finally giving Hawken it's fair shake.

RANDY KALISTA | Staff Writer | Twitter @randykalistaMy Xbox 360 is back from the shop. This is the second time it’s been pulled from the 9th red ring of Hell. Dante Alighieri mentions it in a book somewhere. So. This week’s Operation: Lodestar is the final Mass Effect 3 multiplayer event. “Lodestar.” Can’t help but hear that with a Rick Moranis/Dark Helmet intonation in my head. But no, the servers aren’t shutting down; there just won’t be anymore BioWare-sponsored experience boosts and loot drops. My “Galactic Readiness” sits at a stagnant 50 percent, so I'm aiming to boost that a cent or two. And also trying to get all up on Ashley’s pseudo-xenophobic, bee-stung lips. Perv.

MIKE MAHARDY | Staff Writer | Twitter @mmahardyI'll be diving into Tomb Raider all of this week and weekend, as well as Castlevania: Mirror of Fate, as I'm a huge fan of the series. FTL still has its icy grip of dreadful defeat tight around my neck, so that's inevitable as well.